Extended Responses

Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Source: www.shedexpedition.com

In an extended response question, you will be given a topic or a question and be given specific instructions on how to respond. Knowing what the question is
asking for, and knowing how to structure your response, is crucial to obtaining the best results.

Understand the question:

Read the question carefully to find the key word or phrase in regards to what you need to do. The most common key words and phrases are listed below with a
brief explanation of what you need to do:

Extended Response Structure

Your Extended Response paragraph should follow the same paragraph structure as an analytical essay body paragraph. Parts of a good body paragraph:

1. Topic sentence: The very first sentence that clearly states what you are going to be arguing in the paragraph.

2. Explanation sentence:provides a detailed explanation of what your topic sentence means, or the
main points that your sources will focus on. This usually means provided details about a historical person, location or event.

3. Evidence from your sources:
Incorporate a number of good pieces (usually 3-4) ofevidence from sourcesthat prove your point for this paragraph. A typical evidence sentence has the following
structure:

Smith says that "Romans were cruel soldiers", which shows that Roman legionaries had a
reputation for excessive violence (1977, 186).

As you incorporate your quotes, ensure you provide analysis and evaluation of your sources.
For examples for how to do this, proceed to this section of the
History Skills Online website.

4. Clincher:Make a clear statement about how all the
evidence you provided helps prove what you had stated in your Topic Sentence.

Example Extended Response

Example Extended Response Question:

How did the differences in Caesar’s and Pompey’s attitudes towards their defeated enemies effect how the Roman people reacted to the
two leaders?

Example Extended Response Answer:

The difference between Caesar’s clemency and Pompey’s harsh
punishments polarised the Roman populace, causing them to love one but hate the other. On one hand, Caesar spared the lives of the defeated Pompeian soldiers who had fought against him. His
clemency was promoted throughout Italy, which increased popular opinion in Caesar’s favour. Caesar himself was reported have said to Cicero, a close political ally, that such a strategy was
intended to “willingly win the support of all and gain a permanent victory…grow[ing] strong through pity and generosity” (Cicero, Atticus, VII.11). It must be noted that Cicero
demonstrated a favourable opinion towards the future dictator at that point in time, so the senator may have produced this notion on behalf of Caesar. However, the indication is that the
stratagem worked and Caesar gained substantial popularity in Italy as a result. In contrast to Caesar’s generosity, Pompey and the optimates were
reputedly very harsh towards their enemies. They had announced that those who remained in Rome were to be regarded as enemies (Kamm, 2006, 106). This is confirmed by Goldsworthy, when he notes
that after the victory at Dyrrachium, Pompey’s commanders were allowed to mock and execute imprisoned troops in front of Caesar’s army (2006, 421). The news of both Caesar’s and Pompey’s
differing attitudes towards defeated enemies had a powerful effect on the Romans. The sharp contrast between the two policies of the two civil war generals impressed the Italians in Caesar’s
favour and, as a result, Pompey lost most of his popular support on the peninsula.